The Representation of Digital Disinformation in Young Adults' Minds: A Metaphorical Review

Abstract

The aim of the study is to reveal the mental images of young people regarding the concept of digital disinformation through metaphors. The participant group of the study consists of individuals who took part in the European Commission Erasmus+ KA154 Youth Participation Project titled “Combating Digital Disinformation with Emotion Regulation Skills.” The study included young people aged 18–30 who are undergraduate students at various universities in Türkiye and participated in training sessions on digital disinformation within the scope of the project. The metaphor completion method was used as the data collection tool, and participants were asked to complete the prompt “Digital disinformation is like ..., because ...”. The data collected were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive analysis techniques, through which main themes and conceptual categories were identified. The analyses revealed that the metaphors were grouped under five themes: “Harmful Entities,” “Distorters/Obscurers of Reality,” “Deceptive and Camouflaging,” “Psychological/Social Effects,” and “Attractive yet Dangerous.” All identified metaphors carried negative connotations.